Monday, November 2, 2009

The More Deadly Side of Growing Vigilantism in Mexico

By Sylvia Longmire

Over the last several months, reports of vigilante justice being meted out in Mexico have increased in number. Citizens are growing tired of drug-related violence, thievery, and other crimes — tired enough to take matters into their own hands.

Some vigilante groups have simply resorted to non-lethal revenge tactics, like tying up alleged thieves and kidnappers, stripping them naked, and savagely beating them. A recent video of five burglars being tortured and sexually abused for their crimes was posted on YouTube. It wasn’t pretty, but they were left alive.

Other targets of vigilantes aren’t so lucky. According to a recent GlobalPost article, alleged kidnappers and car thieves have been abducted and murdered and had their corpses dumped in public places along with threatening notes.

George W. Grayson has written extensively on this subject, and said the following about a more vicious vigilante group in an Oct. 8 San Diego Union-Tribune article:

“The self-styled Juárez Citizen Command (CCJ) has sprung to life in the violence-plagued city across from El Paso. In an e-mail to the media, this shadowy band claimed to be funded by local businessmen outraged by kidnappings, murder, and extortion in the sprawling metropolis of 1.4 million people. The CCJ may have been responsible for the killing six men in their 20s and 30s in October 2008; a sign left behind read: ‘Message for all the rats. This will continue.’”

Grayson says only a dozen or so vigilante groups have emerged, but many of them are engaging in activities that are adding to Mexico’s body count, not reducing it.

One of the more curious cases of deadly vigilantism in Mexico is the mysterious group called the Mata Zetas. Here are two clips from news articles in July 2009 describing the group’s activities:

“Inside an abandoned truck in a residential neighborhood in Cancun, Quintana Roo State, were found the bodies of three men, handcuffed and with plastic bags on their heads. Together with the remains was a note with the message: ‘We are the new group Mata Zetas and we are against kidnapping and extortion, and we will fight them in all states for a cleaner Mexico.’" - El Universal

“A video on YouTube confirms the existence of a group of hit men dedicated to the capture and killing of members of organized crime groups. The group calls itself 'Mata Zetas' and previously denounced a series of crimes by leaders and members of Los Zetas.” - Terra.com.mx

It appears that the spread of vigilantism in Mexico isn’t just limited to fed-up private citizens. Any group that publicizes its intention to take on one of the most violent, trained, wealthy, and organized cartels and former enforcement groups has to have more punch than a lynch mob with a few rifles and a lot of attitude.

Theories abound regarding the Mata Zetas’ origin and composition. One is that they work for a rival cartel to Los Zetas, like La Familia Michoacana or the Sinaloa Federation. This essentially makes them posers with no interest for public safety or a “cleaner Mexico,” although they may still garner public support if they are successful in knocking off a lot of Zetas.

Another less orthodox theory is that they’re some sort of paramilitary group or offshoot of the Mexican army that is sanctioned—but not acknowledged—by the Mexican government. The army has been battered by accusations of human rights abuses committed by soldiers in their attempts to clamp down on drug-related violence. Such a group may be better tolerated by society because their killings are targeted against “the bad guys” and don’t mess with civilians.

And the divisions in Mexican society over how vigilante groups should be regarded are reflective of a certain level of tolerance.

Government officials, of course, stand behind the need for the rule of law. Nayarit Governor Ney Gonzalez Sanchez recently said, "No one has the right to take justice into their own hands."

But editorial comments sent in to the Mexican daily El Universal in response to the YouTube-posted torture video say differently, according to a recent Los Angeles Times story:

"'Let's be honest. The majority of us are happy with what happened to these rotten kids,' one said. 'We must guard our houses and be prepared.' Another said, 'I'm not pleased with this, nor do I applaud it, but these kids were up to no good. They only reaped what they themselves sowed.'"

By all accounts, the growing vigilante movement is still relatively small, but conditions in Mexico are ripe for an explosion of these groups in the next year or two if the levels of violence don’t drop significantly.

So what does that mean for the Mexican government and the Mexican people?

Colombia actually presents an interesting case, with just enough similarities to consider.

In the 1980s, Pablo Escobar created his own private army of enforcers because he was getting tired of his crew members getting killed and operations being disrupted by the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas. These paramilitaries eventually grew and morphed into the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), which was designated as a terrorist organization by the US in 2001.

The AUC was largely made up of former Colombian army soldiers, and dozens of Colombian congressmen were jailed and stood trial for providing support to the AUC. Many Colombians don't blame them; the AUC had the same mission as the Colombian army and the government — to get rid of FARC and National Liberation Army (ELN) terrorists.

Could the “Mata Zetas” and similar groups be regarded in Mexico like the AUC was in Colombia to the FARC and ELN? And would their activities be tolerated by members of government and the populace alike, simply because “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”?

The Mexican government has vowed to clamp down on vigilantism, but dealing with both cartels and the vigilantes who want to kill cartel members may be too much for them to deal with. In a country dealing with limited financial and personnel resources in its drug war — as well as a healthy dose of corruption — the hope is that Mexico won’t take the easy way out and allow society to illegally try to do the government’s job.

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Sylvia Longmire is a former Air Force officer and Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, where she specialized in counterintelligence, counterespionage, and force protection analysis. After being medically retired in 2005, Ms. Longmire worked for almost four years as a Senior Intelligence Analyst for the California State Terrorism Threat Assessment Center, providing daily situational awareness to senior state government officials on southwest border violence and significant events in Latin America. She received her Master’s degree from the University of South Florida in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, with a focus on the Cuban and Guatemalan revolutions. Ms. Longmire is currently an independent consultant and freelance writer.  Her website is Mexico's Drug War; she is a regular contributor to Examiner.com; and her email address is spooky926@gmail.com.